Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty Lifts Sector

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, a video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard ( ATVI), was released last night at 12:01 a.m. at 3,000 GameStop ( GME) store locations. GameStop and Activision Blizzard share prices have been steadily increasing leading up to the big release, and are continuing to rise in Tuesday trading.

Activision Blizzard, which is trading at $11.85 Tuesday, essentially flat on the day, was changing hands at $10.30 at the start of the month. GameStop shares, which were trading at below $18.00 on June 29, are trading at around $20.50 on Tuesday, slightly down on the day from their opening level of $21.01.

Analysts, including Michael Pachter, the managing director at Equity Research, expect the new video game to sell well, and aren't surprised by the positive movement of the stocks in response to the game's debut. Starcraft II is the sequel to Starcraft a real-time strategy game released in 1998, which sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.

"Combining Kongregate's expansive catalogue of games with our well known consumer brand, powerful marketing and strong customer relationships, means that even more gamers will be able to enjoy their games anytime, anywhere and on any device," said Tony Bartel, the president of GameStop.

Kongregate will be recognized as a subsidiary of GameStop, and the deal is expected to be finalized on August 1.

Black Friday still has its deals and doorbusters, but Cyber Monday, Green Monday, Free Shipping Day and other holiday shopping dates offer just as much. And you can avoid the menacing crowds on this particular Tuesday in December.